Richardson Grove rally takes a violent turn

A dozen people were arrested after chaining themselves to the stairwell and refusing to leave the lobby of the Caltrans District 1 Headquarters in Eureka Monday while protesting the proposed Richardson Grove construction project.

Chants of "One demand: Cancel the plan," filled the room at 5 p.m., when Eureka Police Department Chief Garr Nielsen issued a verbal warning to the crowd to disperse. The group, which earlier in the day swelled to more than 100, was down to less than 50 by the time EPD officers formed a barrier around the stairwell and forced people out of the building.

One man was handcuffed after refusing to stop banging a drum, while several members of the crowd protested as they were pushed backward. Nielsen said that 12 people were taken into custody, including six who were chained together around the guardrail leading up the stairs - one wearing an additional bicycle-style U-lock around his neck.

Nielsen said he was surprised by the hostility of the protesters, who at one point threw a mug full of coffee and a metal sign at officers, causing minor injuries.

"Quite frankly, I didn't think these people were going to get so defensive," Nielsen said, adding that multiple people kicked officers, while others simply lay down on the ground.

Aside from minor injuries to the two officers, Nielsen said that none of the protesters was injured during the demonstration. No officer used his baton, Taser or pepper spray during the incident.

"All in all, it went as well as it could have given the situation," Nielsen said, adding that the protesters could have been arrested at any time during their more than three-hour stay in the building but that he decided to let the protest continue until 5 p.m. "It's just too bad that it had to get confrontational like that at the end."

Hue Tehntin, one of the last people pushed out of the lobby before officers closed the doors, said she was not surprised by the actions of police. Tehntin walked away from the scene with minor injuries to her hand, which she said came from beating the window to the lobby, which officers covered in blankets once everyone was outside.

"We got pushed away so fast," said Tehntin, an activist from Berkeley. "We were just chanting the whole time, but I knew it was bound to happen."

At least one officer with the California Highway Patrol filmed the arrests inside, along with agents with the Redwood Empire Municipal Insurance Fund, which covers local law enforcement in similar situations.

A sheriff's deputy who specializes in cutting through the metal bands around the arms of the protesters was on scene, and Nielsen said he would remove them by cutting out a small wedge with a power saw. More than a dozen law enforcement officers were on the scene, yelling to officers, "Get off our doorstep and we'll get off yours," and holding signs reading "R.I.P. Richardson Grove Improvement Project."

But despite the emotion many seemed to have for the project, the construction will not affect the health of Redwood trees in the area, said Caltrans District 1 Director Charles Fielder. Fielder said that work for the project, which is dependent on a water quality permit he expects to receive later this month, will be up for bid in the spring and could begin as soon as May.

Plans do not call for any old-growth redwood trees to be removed.

"This particular project is very minor in nature, and yet when you look at some of the information that gets posted and a lot of it is simply incorrect," Fielder said. "Either people are misinformed, or they choose to be misinformed."

The goal of the project, which will widen the shoulder of the road by two- and four-foot increments at various points, is to allow for industry standard-sized trucks to pass through the area without drifting into oncoming traffic in the opposite lane. The trucks, which conform to the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, are longer than California-specific trucks, which, aside from a limited number of legal exemptions, are currently the only trucks allowed through the road.

To minimize the effect of construction on the roots of redwoods, Fielder said work will be done by hand or with a pneumatic excavator, sometimes referred to as an Air Spade.

"It's not a standard highway, but that's not a standard location, either," Fielder said. "We take our responsibility for environmental stewardship very seriously, and we have studied this project early on and concluded that there will not be significant impacts to the environment."

Fielder left the office for Sacramento before the protesters were arrested, but said that if people were inside the lobby when the business closed they would have to be removed.

"People have a right to organize and protest," Fielder said. "We have a diverse community, and that showed here today." Matt Drange can be reached at 441-0514 or mdrange@times-standard.com. Staff Writer Donna Tam contributed to this report.